Sustainable design

“The Office of Administration and Planning welcomes your feedback on revisions to the Sustainable Design and Construction policy (currently the Green Build and Energy policy). “ Ohio State University

I read my husband’s architecture journals and e-mails and see a lot about “sustainable” and “green” and “small.” Thousands of pages, gallons of ink, and angst filled pie-in-the sky millennial writers worshiping Mother Earth with religious green fever. And then poof.  All it took was a pandemic and lockdowns from our governors.  No committees or feedback from architects, pastors or librarians.  No need even for new or remodeled buildings.  Lock ‘em down.  Send everyone home except truckers and grocery clerks, get a good internet connection, sign up for Zoom and we’re good to go.  No pollution. No sustainable design.  No energy plan.

Thanks for the Christmas display

When we moved to Columbus in 1967, the area we live in now was farm woods and pasture—ravine, woods, and creek.  There was a 19th century farm house and old barn (now gone) on the property.  We had actually watched this area being built  and the firm Bob worked for, Urban Calabretta (now Brown Calabretta)  in the 1970s designed this very attractive 30 unit condominium community, a concept still rather new to Columbus 50 years ago. We had never driven back here until 2001 when we noticed several listings in the paper, and we fell in love with the setting.  So we have a lovely view north out our living room window of our neighbors on the next street “over the river and through the woods.”  They are close on this side, but about 1/2 mile to drive there.
 
We’ve been enjoying their Christmas lights in their back yard this season.  The colors change and rotate through the lights through a large tree. The other night Bob asked for a piece of stationery so he could write them a Thank You note for the enjoyment we’ve had every evening.  I thought it was a nice idea, but we don’t know their names, and the back of the house is 3 stories, yet the front appears to be a ranch—I’m not sure on that street if I could even identify it. Ten years ago when I was still walking in nice weather I’d noticed how difficult it was to identify the front of the homes I could only see from the rear.

No problem.  He wrote the note and then drove there, knocked on their door, and introduced himself.  They had a brief visit, and he told them how much we had enjoyed their lights.  Bob thought they were very nice, and they were quite surprised to get a personal and written thank you.

Architect fired by Columbus Board of Education

There's a story in the Columbus Dispatch today about the firing of an architect on a $26 million middle school renovation by the Columbus Board of Education. First the public was told there were design problems with the historic details, now that the architect has been fired. I always note articles about architects since my husband is one, and has been an associate, a partner, and a sole practitioner with his own firm since 1994. The minute I read the architect's name, I guessed the problem was affirmative action. If you are to get state or local government jobs, you have to have a female or minority firm partner with you. Apparently, the real reason he was fired had originally been covered up, so now the story is appearing. And you have to work your way almost to the end before you find out, not why he was fired, but why he was hired.

"Asked why Udeagbala's company was leading a project it wasn't qualified to complete it, Acock [architect on the oversight committee that selected him] said after the meeting that it was partly because of the district's desire to help a local black architect. . . The district's "local economically disadvantaged enterprise" program, known as LEDE, seeks to help socially and economically disadvantaged people participate in district contracts, "including African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, women and others," the policy says. Because of federal case law, the program sets only race- and gender-neutral goals for participation."

What a crock of BS! It wasn't "partly" the reason, it was the reason. You can't get a government job in the building industry if you don't partner with a minority firm, and the minority firms in turn in order to get work, partner with more experienced, non-minority firms. When I was the veterinary medicine librarian at OSU I went outside the university maintenance office (civil service) to hire a private firm painter for my library, but the bidder had to have a minority partner who did the work. He was awful, couldn't get the paint color right, and the partnering firm eventually sent in a replacement. In this case reported in the Dispatch, from the names Udeagbala partnered with, at least 2 other firms (both minority) backed out after finding out he wasn't qualified. This program of "affirmative action" on government jobs has actually hurt minorities and women. He might have become a good architect if he'd stayed in the trenches fighting the battles daily until he was ready and said no to the government.

Choosing an architect by the color of his skin or ethnicity for a building that has to withstand earth tremors, hurricanes, tornadoes, wild temperature fluctuations, snow loads, all environmental rules for health and safety, plus the complexity of renovation of a building on the historic register, is not a safe plan for the children or the staff of that school. Either he/she is qualified to do a job or he isn't. Don't put safety and design at risk to meet social goals.

Choosing a president by the color of his skin is even more dangerous--but for the whole nation, not just Columbus school children.

Note to a successful California architect supporting "Occupy"

You're a little late to the gate realizing how dependent architects are on the wealthy of this country, and also, I might add, the federal government. I'm not sure it's ever been that different--yesterday we toured the home and gardens of F.A. Seiberling, Stan Hywet, in Akron, OH. 65,000 sq. ft, 23 bathrooms, and preserved to be the absolute latest in everything, ala 1915. There were 3,000 separate blueprints and drawings. A special railroad spur to bring in building materials and workers. We were told the landscape architect walked the 3,000 acres (now only 70) for a year just to site it properly. It boggles the mind to think of the thousands and thousands of jobs he created globally in the rubber industry, as well as right there in Akron. And in those days there was no income tax deducation for "doing good"--he just did it. And after the recession following WWI in the 1920s, he went bankrupt from a bad business decision, and started all over at age 62. His next company wasn't as successful as Goodyear, but it did become 7th in the nation in rubber.

There are some good, sincere people wandering around the Occupy movement--I've visited (on the web) about 15 cities/states from Nova Scotia to Missoula to West something Missouri. For the most part, they know nothing about the laws, codes, zoning and tax structure of the business world; they are completely ignorant on the taxes paid or percentage the wealthy contribute to the government or the economy or their own lives; they've taken out student loans for degrees like social work or English that can never be a ROI ($250,000 at Columbia) and racked up huge debts for living expenses; they want "fair" but can't say why Tiger should be paid more than his caddy, Oprah more than the camerman who may work even harder; they are clueless about how dependent they are on the successful, smart, risk takers like Steve Jobs who dropped out of college. They have more greed, envy and lust for material goods than any wealthy person I've ever met.

I'm disappointed you're going down this rabbit hole filled with swampy socialist dreams, when the upper 10%--probably even the upper 20% have created work space for you in their lives. Which from your web page and blog looks a whole lot spiffier than our life.

What's wrong with calling it PLPCB?

"The five partners in the London office of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates have left to start their own practice, named PLP Architecture. The founders of the new firm are Lee Polisano, FAIA, former president of KPF, as well as David Leventhal, FAIA, Fred Pilbrow, RIBA, Karen Cook, AIA, and Ron Bakker, AIA. The move comes after the five made a failed attempt to buy out KPF's UK operations in July." Architectural Record

I guess it wasn't as pronounceable as PLP.

The painful fence straddle at Kiplinger Connection (AIA)

The opening paragraph proclaims the stimulus WILL work (for architects). Then it’s like someone slapped him upside the head . . .that Treasury will “get its act together soon” . . . "Businesses will wait to rehire until they’re sure that any pickup in demand will last." And finally, the truth dawns.

We’ll never know if the stimulus really worked. There are no do-overs, so we won’t be able to tell what would have happened if a different path were taken.

Because recessions run their course, eventual improvement is inevitable, helped by low interest rates as well as low prices for gasoline and other commodities. But a lack of confidence among consumers and companies and the halt in spending and hiring threaten to keep the economy from recuperating fully for several years.

Throwing billions at the problems means soaring deficits and inflation later. But policymakers see those as the least of the evils they face. And it will help efforts to keep deflation from getting out of control. That would lead to a downward spiral that could get vicious and certainly would result in a much longer, deeper recession.

So, what these financial gurus are saying we're throwing money at a problem that would resolve itself in say 3 years instead of 11 or 12 if government would just stand back. And not a word about nationalizing so many industries and making us a socialist economy in the meanwhile. Which is really the excuse for this massive infusion of money. Maybe architects don't care? As long as they can play with their computer assisted design and have buildings that won't last 30 years (more jobs for the future), who cares who the employer is?

How to thrive in a bad economy

And I didn't see a word about going for the green. How refreshing and innovative! This architectural firm in Memphis has "work on the boards" because of its can do attitude, excellent care of its clients, careful managing of its assets--people, equipment and cash, its flexibility and common sense. Story here.

No moralizing here.

Renzo Piano calls his new building for the California Academy of Sciences in the San Francisco Golden Gate Park a “soft machine.” Apparently, it sounds better in Italian, but in any language it is a green gimmick. The type I love to ridicule. No professions, unless it is the politicians and civil service of both parties, are more vested in green hype than the building trades--architects, interior designers, furniture makers, engineers of all makes and models, all construction trades from plumbers to sub contractors, and venture capitalists. They ripped down classical structures and threw up (literally) buildings that looked like cereal boxes on a kitchen shelf, then covered up that mess with "post-modern" full of peaks and valleys and round windows, and after leaving most cities and their budgets in a shambles, are back with a new idea--going green and reducing the carbon footprint. I can hardly stand to look at some of the architectural student projects for survivors of hurricanes and earthquakes.

“Piano saw the roof as a metaphor for the entire project. “I saw it as topography,” he adds. “The idea was to cut a piece of the park, push it up 35 feet—to the height of the old buildings—and then put whatever was needed underneath.” From the beginning, he envisioned a green roof that would be an extension of the park and serve as a thermal buffer for the spaces below. “Twenty-first-century architecture must be about sustainability,” he asserts. “This isn’t a moralistic stance; it’s simply what architecture must be.” To really appreciate the full scope of every shade of green, read the whole article in Architectural Digest.

I love it especially when they say they aren’t moralizing.

Prize for the most green words in one paragraph

The best reason to take care of the planet isn’t global warming--it’s as simple as keeping your home clean and attractive--we live here, so be nice to yourself and your neighbors! It’s like putting good food in your body so your brain and nervous system work well--not that you'll cure cancer or prevent dementia. But being green is also a marketing tactic for some businesses; a religious, pantheistic faith for some; a warm, emotional feel good for others; a power trip for some even on an in-house task force or committee of a college, church or corporation; and most important, a way to gain total political control at the local, state, federal and international level through laws, regulations and treaties.

This paragraph should get a prize for the most trendy, "gosh-I’m-so-green" words:

“We sell ourselves as a green-focused firm,” says HOK Architect Casey Visintin, LEED-AP. “Our community service program reinforces that and shows how our principles affect the community.” At the same time, he says, the collaborative project shows that sustainable strategies can be achieved at any level.

Green-focused
LEED
Community
service
Collaborative
Sustainable

The story which appears in the AIArchitect This Week is about a very large architectural firm with offices all over the world transforming “an unused back lot” of a school into an outdoor classroom for learning and investigation.

It had all the feel good elements of a good green story--

”members of the firm volunteering their week-ends”
“collaboration with the parents and principal”
“tangible illustration of the firm’s values,”
“Spanish immersion program school”
“outdoor classroom in the sciences”
“opportunity to learn about environmentally friendly practices”

Notice in these stories the word "profit" never appears. One would think that client needs and payroll were met with just happy-clappy, feel-good goals and motives. Also, I question any business "volunteering" their staff in mandatory projects. Do employees who have their own families and hobbies (or even gardens) object to giving up their week-ends to benefit someone else's family and green space? (This was not a poor school but a public magnet school--language immersion--and someone in HOK had ties, probably a child enrolled there or a spouse on staff.) And did the children (no mention they were consulted about this) have ideas that maybe this "unused lot" of an urban school might have been their only play space for ball or chase games or just hanging out?

Remembering the outdoor time where I went to grade school, we managed to be pretty active on concrete, asphalt, dirt and grass. We even managed to run the bases in skirts, crinolines and white bucks. Now the children will need a special grant from USDA for exercise to reduce obesity, topped off with an HHS grant to teach them social skills and how to communicate face to face to make up for being on-line in their free time.